Due to factors such as economic globalization and ongoing advances in computing, data communication, and computer networking technologies, people across the globe are becoming increasingly mobile. Examples of such technology advances include the Internet, the World Wide Web, wireless local area and wide area networks, and mobile computing devices and applications. Various types of mobile computing devices are now commercially available which allow people to affordably and conveniently perform full-fledged computing and data communication activities while they are on the move. Smartphones and tablet computers are two examples of such devices. The popularity of mobile computing devices is growing rapidly, as is the types of mobile computing applications that are available. Accordingly, the number of people that regularly uses a mobile computing device to perform their online computing, communication, and information management tasks is growing rapidly. In fact, mobile computing devices have become a principal computing device for many people.
In addition to people becoming increasingly mobile, businesses and families are becoming increasingly geographically distributed. As a result, people in different geographic locations have an increasing desire to collaborate and exchange information in a live (i.e., dynamic and interactive) manner without having to spend the time, money and effort associated with traveling to a common geographic location. Video conferencing is a popular technique which provides for the live exchange of both video and audio information between two or more people who are situated remotely from one another and are linked by a data communication network. Video conferencing thus allows the people to collaborate and exchange information in a live manner.